Martyr's Crossroads
by Fell The Tempest
Summary: Destroy that which is evil, to allow that which is good to flourish. A concept that never made sense to Naruto, until he died.  Rated M for language, violence, possibly lemons later. Rate and Review?


Whiteness. Nothingness. It encroached upon him, as his world slowly faded away. No longer did smell, sound, or sight plague him with their incessant reminders of his torture. The wind no longer blew through his crimson-stained hair. He felt neither the hot blood flowing down his chest, nor the cold stone beneath him. The morning dew that kissed his lips had long since departed. Even the constant aches and pains had completely vanished. There was no ground beneath his feet, and no sky above. There was nothing... but endless whiteness.

Naruto stood slowly, brushing dirt and clotted blood off of his once-clean jumpsuit. He winced as it ripped and fell to tatters; in all likelihood, hew wouldn't be able to repair it. The seamstress overcharged him for even the simplest repairs. He'd probably have to stitch it himself, he mused. But he didn't have time; he had a mission to complete...

The mission! Naruto tensed, drawing a knicked kunai from his pouch. "Sasuke? Sakura?" He cried. The blond's desperation went unanswered, his voice echoing into the distance. He paused, a cold creeping down his spine. "Where am I?" He whispered, eyes searching, yet seeing nothing but endless white in all directions. There was no sun, there weren't any trees or landmarks... His heart skipped a beat as he looked downwards. There wasn't any ground! What the hell kind of genjutsu was this? He spun around, only to pause.

"Well, that wasn't there a moment ago..." Naruto muttered.

A massive building, wrought of thick stone slabs, lay in front of him. The stone blockes themselves had to be at least as tall as he was, and probably weighed four times as much. He whistled as the chapel's true size became apparent; it towered overhead, like some sort of looming God. The experience was quite a humbling one, which Naruto would never forget. Stained glass windows gave the dark stone a vibrant glow. Even outside of it, Naruto could almost feel a sense of peace and warmth flowing through him. It was like that one time the Old Man had gotten him a new coat for the winter months; his fears and doubts just... melted away. His head was clear, his mind sharper than ever.

The only entrance to the chapel was a set of double-doors, made of a thick, black stone. Granite, maybe? Cracks of white spidered through the black stone, which was adored with golden crosses. A single golden bar ran across the length of the doors, inscribed with runes written in silver. Naruto knelt and tried to read the foreign runes, only for the runes to transform into Kanji before his eyes.

"What's this?" Naruto muttered, squinting as he tried to make out the shifting texts.

/I AM IN LIFE SO RARELY SEEN, YET EVERY DAY I SHAPE MAN'S DREAMS, AN OFFERING OF BLOOD FROM THEE, TO STOP ANOTHER'S DESTROPHY/

"A riddle?" Naruto blinked. "I've never been good at riddles..." He muttered. As if responding to his voice, the runes transformed again. Naruto gasped as the runes glowed with power. The cathedral... was alive!

/FIND THE ANSWER IN THINE HAND, AND YOU SHALL LEAVE THIS BARREN LAND, IF INDEED THINE HEART IS GRAND, TELL ME, FAITHFUL, WHAT I AM/

Naruto ran his hand through his hair, pondering the strange words. Dreams... blood...

His eyes glazed over as he remembered his adventures with Sakura and Sasuke. Memories of his past, thick and vivid, danced before his eyes. It was as if he was reliving his life again, from a new perspective. He felt the joy of seeing the Old Man for the first time; he felt the pain of loneliness claw at his heart. He remembered the aching burn of his body, burnt out from training. He could feel the soft pressing of lips - Hinata's - on his cheek, the night he won his Hita-Ate. He could smell smoke, fire...

Blood...

"Blood means everything." Naruto began, speaking to the chapel as if it were an old friend. His voice was filled with a casual warm, but laced with the weariness that crept through his bones. "Blood binds us together. Blood is our strength, and our weakness. We need it to live, but we can't stand the sight of it."

He paused for a moment, lost in thought. "I guess I'm the same. I hold back the Kyuubi, after all. Most people can't stand the sight of me, either." He chuckled at the irony, though the chapel doors offered no response.

Naruto swept a hand through his hair. "But, such is the life of a Jinchuuriki. We're sacrifices, right? We hold the demons at bay, so the others can live... even if they hate us for what we contain." He patted his toned stomach gently, tracing the edges seal that marred his skin. His attention was drawn to the scar on his hand.

"Funny, I thought that this would have healed up by now." He whispered. A good two weeks had passed since the encounter with the Demon Brothers. He'd stabbed himself in the hand as a reminder of his oath - to never back down, no matter the odds. A lightbulb flickered on inside of his head, as he shifted his gaze between the runes inscribed on the door and the blazing scar that marred his hand. Naruto paused as he realized the answer, and his eyes hardened in determination.

"You are Sacrifice," he stated. "The blood of one to prevent the suffering of another. The answer truly was in my hand... because you and I are the same."

The runes decorating the door's surface faded away. Suddenly, a loud rumbling shook the building, and the doors began to open. Naruto nearly fell to his knees as tremors surged through his legs. "Damn, those doors must have been really heavy!" he exclaimed. Once the tremors abated, he cautiously poked his head through the open doorway. He tentatively stepped into the chapel, as if expecting the doors to suddenly close and trap him inside. Once he was well within, however, he quickly disregarded that notion and relaxed, taking the time to appreciate his new surroundings.

Naruto walked into a large room, his footsteps echoing against the stone cieling far above. He tried lookin up, but even his Kyuubi-enhanced vision couldn't see the top. It was an unnerving experience, to say the least.

The first thing that caught his eyes was the statue. Made of finely crafted marble, it depicted a crucified man, looking up at the endless ceiling. His eyes glowed a misty blue golor, and the statue was so lifelike, if Naruto didn't know any better, he'd say that it was breathing. Beneath the statue was a white marble altar, covered in an elegant golden cloth. Despite the oddity of the chapel, Naruto felt more at ease here than he had ever felt at home. The chapel gave off a warm and inviting feeling, smelling of freshly cut grass and other familiar scents... probably incense, if he had to guess. The entire room - or what he could see of it, at least - was bathed in the gentle glow of candles that filled the cathedral. Stain glass windows depicting religious scenes - of sacrifice, bloodshed, tears, and miracles - lined the walls, and mesmerized him. Each picture his eyes rested upon seemed to come to life; it was as if he could see the events happening before his eyes. Like he had actually been there... it was disconcerting, and yet he chose not to look away. Voices - whispering, yelling - flitted through his ears like spectres of a distant past. He approached the stained glass and traced his fingers across it.

Naruto felt a tug, and turned his gaze back to the altar. He felt... pulled to it. Something was... calling out to his soul. He didn't know why, but he _needed_ to be there. He simply_ needed_ to... As he slowly approached the altar, he ran his hands along the pews lining the central aisle. The laquered wood was unfamiliar to his touch, and yet it brought him much-needed comfort. Naruto could have sworn that he'd been there before, but he couldn't ever remember seeing this place.

"Oi, what do we have 'ere?" Called a voice, shocking Naruto out of his stupor. He realized that he wasn't alone in the church. On either side of the altar stood strange-looking men. They were the same height and build, but that was where the similarities ended. The one who had spoken had sandy blond hair that seemed to defy gravity, just as his own did. Brown eyes twinkled as the man smiled mischievously.

"What the FUCK is this punk doing in our FUCKING home? Did you let this punk in?" The other man spoke, gesturing wildly with his hands. Jet-black hair framed a hard, narrow face, and his hazel eyes glinted in the candlelight. He knew he'd never met before, but he had this feeling... they hadn't met before, had they?

"How the fuck should I know?" Replied the first man, obviously the calmer of the two. "Why don't we just fuckin' ask him?"

"Sure, sure, fine..." replied the second man, flipping his bangs out of his eyes with a quick jerk. "What are ya doin' 'ere?"

"Um..." Naruto began, his throat suddenly dry. "I don't know?"

The two men shared a look, and before Naruto could protest, he found himself planted painfully on the floor with the two men standing over him. He coughed roughly as one of the men's knees dug into his chest. He thrashed to escape their grip, but gasped and tensed as he felt the barrel of a gun poke into his chin. "You think you can just... WALTZ IN," began the first man, "WITHOUT KNOCKIN'?" He growled angrily, jabbing a... metal thing?... into Naruto's neck. The blond flinched as the cold steel touched him, and tried to shift away, only for theit to jab painfully into his neck again. He knew not what it was, but it filled him with an otherworldly terror.

"That's fuckin' rude!" continued the second, pulling out his gun as well. "Do ya feel lucky, punk? Do ya?" Naruto flinched violently as the cold barrel of said gun pressed against his forehead.

"...Yes?" Naruto whimpered, his heart hammering in his chest.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Yelled the first man, as he covered Naruto's mouth with his hand, roughly locking Naruto in place. Naruto closed his eyes tightly, only to open them in fright as the two men began chanting.

"...And an awesome wail, was heard throughout the heavens." Whispered the first man. He ran the pistol over Naruto's head, dangling it in front of the boy's frightened eyes. Naruto didn't dare speak; his mouth was covered, so no one would hear him anyway. In all likelihood, he'd die... but he wasn't gonna die with his eyes closed. He forced himself to stare straight into the barrel of the gun as it hovered inches from his gaze.

"And the terrible hand of the Lord, struck upon the earth!" intoned the second. Naruto's breath seemed unnaturally loud in his own ears. The voices of the two men had an almost ghostly timber to them, like that of a ghost speaking from beyond the grave. He shivered softly.

"And as the ALMIGHT GOD, CREATED YOU... NOW, HE CALLETH YOU HOME!"

Click.

Naruto nearly shat himself. Silence reigned for a few moments, as the guns remained pressed into his head.

"Oops." Snickered the first. "Busy signal. He'll have to calleth back."

The two men jumped away and started laughing, leaving a stunned Naruto on the floor. "AHAHAHAHA, DAMN! It's been such a long-ass time!" Exclaimed the first, his face red with laughter.

"Fucking hell!" replied the second, a wicked grin plastered on his face. "All we need now's a bar, and we're back 'n business!"

"...what?" questioned Naruto, still shocked into silence. Seeing the stunned expression on his face, the brothers laughed even harder.

Naruto stood indignantly. "What was that? Is that how you treat guests around here?" The blond scowled. The brothers continued laughing, and the dark-haired one gently patted Naruto on the shoulder.

"Oh, not at all... that, m'boy, was a rite of Initiation." He sighed pleasantly, lost in old memories. "First, it was Rocco... then Romeo..."

The first brother snorted at the mention of Romeo. "Viva la Raza and all that. Good times, m'boy, good times."

Naruto was unphased by their humor. If anything, it pissed him off even more. Not knowing where you are and having guns pointed at you tends to leave you feeling that way. "Initiation? Into what? Who are you, and what do you want?" Naruto demanded.

Suddenly, the church vanished before his eyes. He blinked once, and instead of an altar before him, he was sitting at a bar, the men from before on either side of him. Naruto quickly glanced over his new surroundings. He was in a hazy sports pub of some sort, lit in black and white. Smoke gently billowed towards the low ceiling from dying cigarettes that filled a single ashtray that rested near his arm. On the other side of the bar was an old man, gently cleaning a used glass with a clean rag. The old man whistled softly to himself as he walked out of sight, into a room behind the bar.

"Where are we now?" a curious Naruto asked, as his eyes were drawn to the bottles that lined the room. There had to be hundreds upon hundreds of them, each a different color and shape, that encircled the room. A ceiling fan gently spun, circulating the smoke but not doing anything to get rid of it.

Rather than answer his question, the second brother lit up a cigarette and took a quick puff. "Ah..." he sighed, smiling, "I haven't had a good hit in years."

"To answer your earlier question," The first began. Naruto's interest perked, and he quickly recovered his bearings, "Who we are isn't important. It's who you are that matters. As for what we want... well, it's not what we want."

"It's what you want." The second brother continued.

Naruto scowled. "And what do I want, exactly?"

"We'll get to that in a bit... and you need ta lighten up. Care for a drink?" Questioned the first, who procured a bottle of whiskey from the wall behind the bar. Naruto blinked, astonished, but deigned not to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Erm... sure, I guess. But I'm a bit young to be drinking," Naruto replied. His honest response was met with a mischievous grin. _Beware of smiling Irish eyes..._

"Old enough to kill, old enough to fuck 'n drink... an' as long as you don't tell, we won't." He promised, bending over and setting a few shot glasses on the counter.

"Alright, fair enough." Naruto replied. The brothers poured themselves and Naruto a glass each. Wordlessly, they passed the glass to him. The blond stared at his reflection in the golden-brown whiskey, before downing it quickly. It was a decision he instantly regretted - he twitched, nearly frothing at the mouth, as it burned down his throat. He coughed hoarsely, eyes watering, and the brothers' laughter resumed.

"Did we mention that it's 150 proof?" The second cackled, howling with laughter. He grabbed his own glass and quickly downed the whiskey. "Ahhh, that'll put hair on yer chest!" He thumped his chest with his fist, before pouring himself another.

"Care for a second?" Naruto glanced at the empty glass in his hand and shrugged, holding it out for a refill. Once again, the golden-brown drink flowed into his glass. As he put the crystal to his lips, the second man grabbed his wrist lightly.

"Wait a second. Let's toast." He suggested. His brother snorted in contempt.

"What for? It's damn good alcohol, sittin there, practically beggin' me ter drink it. Toastin's fer dipshits in monkey suits."

"Nah, man, have you ever seen those guys in the movies?" The second brother asked, his eyes grinning wider than he ever could. "Ya know how it goes. They have a big toast, an' say some really cool shit, right before the big battle. It sets up the whole movie." Naruto blinked owlishly, glancing between the two. Obviously they had a few screws loose, but... he found himself smiling along with them. Maybe it was the alcohol talking - he could feel it starting to mess with him - but they were really, _really_ funny. He snorted, prompting a chuckle from the brothers.

"That's the spirit! You've got Irish in you yet!" Exclaimed the first. He hammered the bar with his fist, a triumphant grin on his face.

"I knew we chose right," he said to his brother. They locked eyes and the second brother nodded in response.

"Chose? What do you mean?" Naruto questioned.

"M'boy, where do you think you are?" asked the first brother. He set aside his glass and locked eyes with Naruto. There was something _odd_ about them...

"We're in a bar." Naruto stated, matter-of-factly. "You should know. You took me here, after all."

"Not just any bar. This little place, we call the Irish Inn... it's a home away from home, it is." Replied the first brother. "More to the point, it's a home, after you've _departed_ from home." He clarified.

Naruto shrugged, not understanding. Seeing his clueless expression, the second brother set aside his cigarette and cleared his throat. He patted Naruto firmly on the back, and said, "You're _dead_, mate. For about five minutes now, actually."

Naruto nearly choked on his drink. "I'm... what?" He mumbled.

"Dead. D - E - A - D. Kicked the bucket. You took a thunder punch to the chest, remember?"

Suddenly, the memories came rushing back. He remembered pushing the beautiful kunoichi away from Zabuza, just as vividly as he remembered his own sensei's lightning-covered fist punching through his ribcage.

"Haku!" Naruto exclaimed, rising quickly to his feet. "I have to save her!"

"You don't 'have' to do anything," reasoned the second brother, "you're _dead_."

"But - but her life was in danger! She's going to kill herself to save her master!" Naruto exclaimed, running his hand through his hair. He bounced up and down on the balls of his feet, glancing around for an exit. "I have to get out of here!"

"Hold up." Commanded the first brother, all humor gone from his eyes. Naruto suddenly lost control of his body and collapsed to the floor.

"You do realize that if, by some chance, you managed ta get back... you'd probably be sent right back here? You've yet ta take a life... and if yer current attitude is any indicator, ya'll keep tryin' not to, until the day it gets ya killed. Ya do realize, that she's at the mercy of a man who completely disregards human life? And A'm talkin' about both of yer teachers, not just hers. On top o' that, if by some chance you do manage to survive the Demon o' the Mist, there's Gato. A fine piece o' work. If ya succeed in yer mission, ya can bet that he'll be right pissed. He'll hunt ya both down until the day ya die, and in all likelihood, he'll be the cause of that day. Her safety, and yours, will be in your hands... and by choosin' not ter do the deed, you'll be condemnin' yerself and the girl to an early death." Naruto reeled beneath the verbal onslaught. He hated to admit it to himself, but... he was _right._

"M'boy, ya've got a choice ahead of ya. What would you do, if by some miracle, you went back? Would ya stick to yer no-kill policy, or would you sit back and watch from the sidelines as yer family's killed?"

Naruto paused, different answers popping into his head. However, only one seemed to fit, and he felt it was true. "I'm not a bad person... but I know that if Gato were in my position, he wouldn't show mercy. What you're saying is probably right. If it came down to it... he'd kill me." Naruto paused, his own words weighing heavily on his mind.

"I think," he continued, "that in order for that which is good to flourish... that which is evil, must be destroyed."

The second brother whispered coldly, "So... you'd do it, then? You'd take another life, if it meant saving another?"

Naruto nodded silently.

The second brother's eyes glowed with a fiery passion. "To our new brother!" He exclaimed, holding his glass high."To the next Saint to walk the earth! May the blood of the innocent never be shed, and may the blood of the wicked flow like a river! May he spread his blackened wings, as have we three, and be the vengeful striking hammer of God!"

Naruto blinked owlishly. Of all the responses he could have guessed, that certainly wasn't one of them.

The first brother sighed, but nonetheless raised his glass halfheartedly. "To... ah, fuck it. To this fucker sittin' next to me, who's gonna be in for a really_, really_ rude awakening."

Naruto raised his glass as well, but quickly paused paused, the first brother's words sinking in. He glanced to his side, leaving his whiskey untouched. "Wait, what?"

The bar's doorway opened, and chimes jingled. Suddenly, it was as if a hurricane ripped through the bar. Wind howled in his ears, and the entire room shook, bottles of whiskey, wine, and beer alike shattering on the floor. Papers billowed through the air, as though gripped by an unseen force, and Naruto felt himself pulling away from the bar. He grabbed at his seat futilely, managing to loop his fingertips around it as he was roughly tossed about.

"Don't worry!" Bellowed the eldest brother over the noise. For whatever reason, the wind wasn't affecting him at all. He nonchalantly drank another shot of Whiskey, before gesturing at the door.

"If ya have any questions, just think about this place before ya sleep! We'll be waitin' fer ya!" He exclaimed. Naruto felt his strength give way, and he shot out of the bar's door like a cannonball.

_"Fuck Y-!" _

Whiteness enveloped him once again.


End file.
